CHASING TIGER TAIL

[Young Dee 1,303]

Where have all the Chris Dawes sceptic's gone?

Seemed to be a lot more sceptic's than believers during trade period..... funny that!

[jumbo returns 6,737]

Dawes is a genuine forward in the modern sense. He'll only get better the more he plays with and understands our players delivery.

The Richmond spud of a supporter in front of me got stuck into him in the last quarter (only once they felt comfortable enough that they wouldn't lose). I pointed out to him that unfortunately Dawesy is no gun like Ty Vickery. He didn't like that much.

Chris will be good for us. He gives us something to aim at while we wait on Mitch and Jesse.

Very much 'like.'

Mitch 3-4 weeks away and Round 1 next year.....oh, boy!

[What 18,810]

Where have all the Chris Dawes sceptic's gone?

Seemed to be a lot more sceptic's than believers during trade period..... funny that!

He will be a better player here than at Colingwood cos I feel hes the type of guy that will thrive with more responsibility

[Akum 2,660]

Dawes was reasonable but I feel he could have presented a bit better. A couple of times he just stood there and waited to mark the ball - that frustrated the hell out of me. As well as that, it seems like he doesn't have the confidence to mark out in front and always goes the chest mark, though hopefully the confidence will come.

Dawes's thumb injury was pretty bad, it's apparently really affected him in the past 2 seasons and they can be really nasty. Can't help but wonder whether he's going to have difficulties marking out in front (and thus have to go for chest marks) for a while yet. Marking out in front was one of his strengths in his good year (2010?)

[Norm Smith's Curse 2,589]

He will be a better player here than at Colingwood cos I feel hes the type of guy that will thrive with more responsibility

very much agree. He is a confidence player. In our side he should feel pretty safe with selection and will shine when given leadership opportunities.

[Little Richard 6,261]

Dawes's thumb injury was pretty bad, it's apparently really affected him in the past 2 seasons and they can be really nasty. Can't help but wonder whether he's going to have difficulties marking out in front (and thus have to go for chest marks) for a while yet. Marking out in front was one of his strengths in his good year (2010?)

I wasn't aware he had a thumb injury. I had a bad one myself (ligaments) and couldn't mark properly for a good season and a half so I can understand that. Hopefully time will be good for him.

[Norm Smith's Curse 2,589]

Still think the pies will regret discarding Dawes for an oldie with 2 seasons left in him tops. Dawes's best footy is ahead of him.

to see Clark, Dawes and Hogan in our forward 50 - would have to seem attractive to some mids in the future. Dahlhous? Prestia? Sorry got caught in a dream...

Edited May 19, 2013 by Norm Smith's Curse

[CHAMP 347]

Thought the commentary was disgraceful today. First melb game I've missed, unfortunately had to sit through Bruce and Tim pay out on Melbourne at every opportunity, while going crazy every time cotchin or one of their other favourites got near the ball.

This was especially so in the first quarter and a half. The notes were in front of them.

Bruce eventually got distracted (and chubby) by the number of lead changes.

Tim, around the same time, thought "this isn't a bad game actually and doesn't reflect what we've been saying at all".

[Moonshadow 17,675]

The Demons refuse to bust a gut i.e SPRINT to get create an option. It's pathetic to watch.

The Kickouts today!

Terlich Dunn or Frawley kicking out = NO.

If Davey is playing, then he should kick out EVERY SINGLE TIME unless there is a quick play-on option. Watt's can do it when he's back.

Davey was playing the link man in the middle delivering forward, so I guess that's why he wasn't kicking out. Can't have it both ways.

[DemonOX 8,779]

Where have all the Chris Dawes sceptic's gone?

Seemed to be a lot more sceptic's than believers during trade period..... funny that!

A week is a long time in footy YD!!!!!

[Return to Glory 8,411]

Return to glory, Howe was the player who covered the most ground and ranthe most of any Demon player, so to sayhe doesmt work hard enough is wrong.

I'm pretty sure that's not what I said. I wrote of intensity at the contest. Very different.

[Ted Lasso 19,268]

i can honestly say i was concerned and doubtful of Dawes ability to be a dangerous forward rather than just a second target, but he was really impressive today, great work rate, chasing and tackling, leading to good area's to create space and could have kicked 3-4 pretty easily, he and clark will be a headache for oppositions,

but by god do we lack polish in the middle, that's the difference in our respectable losses, we are doing some things right but not finishing off so many good pieces of work

[titan_uranus 24,965]

Very harsh, indeed.

Had Dean Polo subbed off - statistically, Polo has been Richmond's No 1 go to man all year, higher than Riewoldt.

I think he did a great job.

Dean Polo? You mean Luke McGuane...right?

He did a fair job on him, but I don't feel one game like today's is enough to change what I think is otherwise a fair perception that he's a pretty limited played. I see more upside in Tom McDonald. More games like today's might change my mind, I guess.

Zany idea isn't it, having the best kick take the kickouts.

You can't have Davey everywhere. If he takes the kickout, he isn't up the ground to deliver inside 50, which IMO is more important.

We don't need a precise laser kick to get the ball out of the defensive 50. We need a plan. Currently it involved Lynden Dunn turning it over on the 50. Something new is warranted.

The passage of play in the second quarter (I think) where Frawley switched long to Sellar, who went down the wing to Davey, who speared a pass into Dawes, who goaled, was the best piece of play I've seen from us all year. Precise disposal, hard running and a strong finish.

Agreed. The hard running was a highlight.

Still think the pies will regret discarding Dawes for an oldie with 2 seasons left in him tops. Dawes's best footy is ahead of him.

Disagree. Not because I don't like Dawes, because I do, I'm a massive fan and I thought he was great today. I can't wait to see him get some support and form a two/three-pronged forward line, our first in ages.

I disagree because I think the Pies have upgraded in their personal situation by getting Lynch. They needed someone to give Jolly a chop out in the ruck, and Dawes wasn't doing that. They couldn't fit Jolly, Dawes, Lynch and Cloke into the same team, so they had to let Dawes go. Lynch is doing exactly what they need, playing second forward and rucking. I think the move of Dawes from Collingwood to Melbourne was win-win, really.

[Deecisive 1,709]

Loved Daveys game, we need to use him more, which means other players have to help break tags so that we can get the ball into his hands, maybe have him play a little behind the play at time as well as ahead. We need his pin point delivery.

I thought Garland was good, he always seemed to be spoiling, he did not win them all but I liked what I saw.

Dawes played well, as for stopping, part of that may also be the high ball delivery.

Loved that we tackled, need to take that and ratchet it up even more for next week. Tackled players make mistakes and cause turnovers.

Hated our kick ins, how can we kick to the boundary line repeatedly and be out numbered or kick to Richmond players who are in a better position than ours.

Hated the failure to move on quickly at times when we have someone in short and by the time we try to take a short kick everyones covered.

Hated the way we failed to man up in our forward line when the Tigers have the ball. Its in our forward line 40meters from our goal and we are allowing them to have free players running around and take it out of their with little presure. Why are we not putting pressure on everyone of their players while it is in our forward line is beyond me. We just leave opposition players alone so that they could chip it around from side to side until they get melbourne players leaving players down field to cover and they just chip over them and start opening up a series of free men all the way down to the goals, or points as the case was often for the Tigers. MAN UP ALL THE TIME especially when the ball is in our forward line, its so much better if we put in more effort there to turn it over there than shaking it free in our backline and then having to deliver it back up forward.

[DeeZee 7,361]

Yeah shame about Maxys game....can't wait till they all put it together on the same day.

[kretinburger 5]

Thank you Mr Davey.If he wasnt playing we would have lost by heaps.As a Territorian I am biased but this is the best we have played this year. He had a full game.We need experience out there .Plus being able to kick to a target helps heaps.

[monoccular 17,411]

................. Gawn was shown up today too. Very, very, ordinary game from Maxy. His kicking is back to what it was prior 2013 too.....................

.....you mean in his entire (2011 pre injury) 4 game career????

Pretty picky and petty, IMO.

Edited May 19, 2013 by monoccular

[Jumping Jack Clennett 1,777]

Dawes's thumb injury was pretty bad, it's apparently really affected him in the past 2 seasons and they can be really nasty. Can't help but wonder whether he's going to have difficulties marking out in front (and thus have to go for chest marks) for a while yet. Marking out in front was one of his strengths in his good year (2010?)

I thought Chris did pretty well today, but on two occasions when he received good passes, he stopped and waited for the ball,when he should have taken a few steps forward and met it.I was very disappointed to see a fairly experienced player make this basic mistake.I think they both resulted in probable 2 goal turn-arounds.

I hope he's learnt from it.

Edited May 19, 2013 by Jumping Jack Clennett

[beelzebub 23,313]

I wonder ( seriously ) if Dawes is /was trying to compensate for what he may or may not have considered shortcomings in his team mates. That snot so much a slight as a relaistic appraisal od where some are. .

hes simply tried to work with what is...not what should be.

just a thought

[Longsufferingnomore 1,631]

I thought the Tiges set out to intimidate us today. Maybe listening to too many "easy beat" stories. I was so proud of the boys and the way they went in and helped out mates be it Gawn running in when someone was being targeted, Trengove running in, Neville's hard no shirking contest at the ball (man), Magner's gut wrenching running and sometimes insane tenacity at the ball. I loved the boys putting their head over the ball. This was 200% better than last week and we know that if we had have Mitch, Jack V and W and captain Jack back the result probably would have been different. I hate listening to the radio's biased commentary although I thought Richo's was at least fair. I think Nathan Brown was on another station and he was unbearable so much so I turned them both off.

I also can't abide Delidio and what he got away with today and that little trumped up !!!! King and the smirk on his face. I wanted Tappy to wipe that smirk off his face.

I hated also that there so few Melbourne supporters there today. I know it has been hard to watch up until today but today was good because the signs are there albeit microscopic signs but at least we saw something today.

I liked the Jamar/Gawn rucking option. I know that many again have been critical of the mid field again today but I thought it was better today than it has been. Obviously Magner in there assisting Nate helped. I also liked Trengove going third man up. I often wonder why don't the rucks just belt it forward when we are being held in the mid field.

Not happy with losing but much happier with the effort. Skills will get better with confidence and I believe there will be some confidence taken out of todays game.

[Cheap Seats 3,310]

Yeah shame about Maxys game....can't wait till they all put it together on the same day.

Now that would be something DeeZee!!

Was disappointed for Maxy today - but what has he played 8 - 10 AFL games? He'll be right

[dee-luded 2,959]

First time this year I was able to sit through a game thinking we had a chance to win, and watching the players have a genuine hard crack at the footy. Me too

If any team gets a free player across half back, something about our structure cannot stop the flow until our over-worked back six stand tall - over and over again. Hat off the Terlich, Frawley, Garland etc... totally

Dawes is worth the money and trade. Can't wait for him and Clark to be on the park together. For those complaining about him having to stop and stand at the end of a lead, look to the kick. Rarely did he have a choice. I thought it was hard for the forwards to anticipate what the mids were about to do with the ball, this caused some stunted looking plays.

Welcome back Aaron Davey. Like the idea of subbing him at 3/4 time. His kicking today was a masterclass. A couple of Strauss' kicks showed a similar potential. That laces out pass to Dawes - breathtaking. I think when Byrnes is fit, we could give Davey a few less minutes over the whole game.

Magner - you should sue those people who decided to put you on the rookie list. Jones had some help in and under.

If only Evans, Bail and Jetta could kick.

Nicho and Jordie... I wanted to punch someone late in the game because of you two . Please listen to these two words: PERIPHERAL VISION!!!!! I yelled at the telly when Jordie got caught, perriphaaaaaaeral !!!!

Dunn looked very steady. watch the last 10 minutes of the game again, I worry with him.. loved him for most of game & then??? when he gets tired, It seems too much, & the motion hoops appear.

Loved it when the melee began. Boy, the Tiges are soft. missed it

Those two passages down the members wing in the last quarter were our two best passages of running football for the year.

I can't believe I feel OK about a 30+ point loss. Me 2, Its shown us some hope, that all isn't lost... & the fitness is getting better,,, ontrack with predictions.

[Roost It 1,434]

yes I agree. Its hard for the bookends when the midfield leaks like a siv.

What's a siv?

[Dee Fan 3,247]

Me too.

Tommy Mc will be a very good footballer for us, give him a bit of time.

[dee-luded 2,959]

Thought the commentary was disgraceful today. First melb game I've missed, unfortunately had to sit through Bruce and Tim pay out on Melbourne at every opportunity, while going crazy every time cotchin or one of their other favourites got near the ball.

& tell TimW to wear his glasses, blind as a bat.